Say What?

 My little guy,JJ will be two at the end of the month.  Wow, those two years went fast.  He is of course, learning to talk, starting to put words together and all that. But, his speech really isn't that clear yet.  It is impossible for Daddy and I not to compare the boys.  K. was much more advanced in his language skills at this age.  It had me worried for a while that JJ was so far behind, but I think now that he is just normal.  Sometimes I really don't know what he is saying.  Tonight at dinner I thought he was asking for more rice and he was saying "there it is." I only figured that out, because he wasn't pointing at the bowl of rice, he was pointing at the front door, and  "there it is"  was part of a game he and K were playing earlier.
He is getting there, but I certainly am guessing at what he is saying at times.  At least he is expressive and does a lot of pointing so we can put two and two together and figure it out.  Plus, he is still only saying two words or short phrases, nothing complicated.  So usually we can decipher what he is saying, usually.
  Yesterday, when at work and talking with one of my older friends, (she is at least 93), I couldn't understand what she was trying to tell me, and I felt bad.  She was obviously getting frustrated with herself for not being able to get the words out the right way.  She had recently had a stroke, and with her expressive aphasia, it can be very difficult for her to talk to others because the words get stuck in her head and different words sometimes come out which make no sense.   I try my best not to just pretend I know what she is saying, because that won't help her, and she knows that I don't know what she said..
Now, I am by no means comparing here, but as one who listens, you do learn to decipher language in a unique way that is helpful in both situations. I think having a child with poor pronunciation, has helped my ear to listen to others who do not speak as clearly, and vice versa.

Anyone interested in expressive aphasia, should look at a blog by someone who has had it... read expressiveaphasia.blogspot.com.
Pretty cool.